# Cline and Roo rules

> Where Cline and Roo Code read rules, path-scoped rules, the six Memory Bank files, and how to see a rule applied.

Page: https://videotomd.com/b/text-cline-and-roo-rules/
Tool: Any AI · Tags: cline, roo-code, rules, memory-bank · 557 words, about 724 tokens
Pills: free · ran in Claude Code · self-check · done check · checked 2026-10-12 · Cline · Roo Code · Claude Code · file tools · always on · 14B+ · coding

## Recipe

- Kind: instructions
- Stage: not set
- Loads: always on
- Works in: Cline, Roo Code, Claude Code
- Needs: file tools
- Bring: nothing
- Cost: free
- Model: 14B+
- Tested in: Claude Code
- Checked: 2026-10-12
- For: coding

## When this is useful
- You wrote a `.clinerules` file and nothing changed.
- You want a rule that only applies when the agent is in `src/components/`.
- Cline forgets the project between tasks and you re-explain it every morning.


## Change it to
- Shared repo: put the same text in AGENTS.md; both Cline and Roo read a root AGENTS.md (the cline and roo rows), then keep `.clinerules/` for path rules only.
- Roo modes: a rule for one mode goes in `.roo/rules-<mode>/` (for example `.roo/rules-code/`).
- 7B model: four rules, one memory file (`activeContext.md`), no path rules.
- Ollama behind Roo: Roo defers to the Modelfile's `num_ctx`; set it there (see the Ollama Modelfile file).


## If your AI needs to look something up
- The current folder names: fetch https://docs.cline.bot/customization/cline-rules or https://roocodeinc.github.io/Roo-Code/features/custom-instructions and quote the path.


## Put it here

Always on: put it where your tool reads instructions every session:

- Cline: Save as .clinerules/<name>.md in the repo root (a folder, not the old single file), or as AGENTS.md. Commit it. Start a new task. Reload: new task. Check it loaded: the Rules panel; the reply shows 'Conditional rules applied: …' for path rules. Source: https://docs.cline.bot/customization/cline-rules (checked 2026-10-12).
- Roo Code: Save as .roo/rules/<name>.md in the repo root, or as AGENTS.md. Commit it. Start a new task. Reload: new task. Check it loaded: the system prompt block USER'S CUSTOM INSTRUCTIONS shows '# Rules from {path}:'. Source: https://roocodeinc.github.io/Roo-Code/features/custom-instructions (checked 2026-10-12).
- Claude Code: Save as CLAUDE.md in the project root, or .claude/CLAUDE.md. Other agents share the repo: put the shared rules in AGENTS.md and make CLAUDE.md one line, @AGENTS.md. Commit it. Start a new session: the file is read at launch. Reload: new session (or /memory to open the files). Check it loaded: /context lists the Memory files it read; /skills, /agents, /hooks list the rest; the InstructionsLoaded hook event fires once per loaded instruction file. Source: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/memory (checked 2026-10-12).

## Access

Membership: plans at https://videotomd.com/pricing/, or email then a plan at https://videotomd.com/b/text-cline-and-roo-rules/. A member's browser downloads the file there; an AI without that session needs the member to attach it.